Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Be prepared to enter the work force as an entry-level interpreter in a K-12 setting or Video Relay Services.
• Work as a member of a team of interpreters.
• Prepare for an interpreting assignment and manage the interpreting process.
• Effectively and accurately interpret a source message.
• Determine clients' language use.
• Apply the RID Code of Professional Conduct and Standard Practice Papers.
• Track and calculate the required hours to complete the course.
• Meet the outcomes mutually agreed upon by the student and instructor (supervisor) for the internship. 

Students will begin by observing the professional interpreter (mentor) at the placement site. During the second week of placement they will meet with their mentors and Deaf consumers to determine their readiness to begin interpreting. Beginning with the third week of placement interns will, with the permission of their mentors and Deaf consumers, interpret a short section and gradually increase the time until they are fully responsible for the interpretation. Students who discretionary qualify based on the Benchmark Assessment must complete an additional 10 hours of interpreting practice during the term for each DQ and in the content area of the DQ. The format of these 10 hours will include practice with SLIP staff and must be approved by internship instructor.

On-site evaluation by the internship instructor and mentors. Weekly journals, and other written assignments will also be evaluated, although interpreting skills evaluations will constitute the primary means of assessment. Students must log a total of 90 hours, of which 45 must be actual interpreting, to receive credit for the course.